ONEOFAFRICA – Abnegation ft DR3LA (Single Review)

The world of underground Nigerian music is always a smorgasbord of possibilities one can choose from, browse and anticipate. It’s like the basket for a lucky draw- you have a mishmash of often, sparks of talent, befuddled by mediocrity or bad executive planning. It is a wide, all-encompassing umbrella. To me, it is more disorganised than the few ‘brands’ we embellish the badge of Afrobeats with. It isn’t the cult that you find heralding Wizkid, or even Burna Boy. Organisation is not necessarily the hallmark of competent music, organisation only comes with the territory when you craft a brand. In fact, these strains of artists tend to have something unique and interesting about them- think about the way Odunsi the Engine has let his artistry evolve, independent of the box of ‘Afrobeats’, straddling into alte. These artists come from humble backgrounds, and all of them have the potential to be the next thing to spark some change in the world of Nigerian music. The grassroots support they garner fuel them in their quest for stardom, and we can question whether these ties are genuine or not. Either way, they exist, and they represent an infrastructure between an underground artist, their audience, and their potential to stand-out and obtain ‘stardom’.

In today’s review, we chance upon an artist with a repertoire not that much different from the description I have provided in the previous paragraph. ONEOFAFRICA, is branded as an underground International Afro-Hiphop artist based in Lagos, Nigeria. He also licenses his own content within his own entertainment label. He is known for other tracks, which I will mention in tandem towards the end of the interview. Right off the bat, I can sense a sort of ‘Mungo Park’-ing going on with the artist. As I cite the writer Motolani Alake in his definition of ‘Mungo Park’-ing (citation linked), it is :

An act of gentrifying, tokenizing and renaming or repurposing existing African pop culture concepts into what they are not. Usually, this is based on agenda, paid promotion, misinformation and/or ignorance by foreign media.

In a very loose sense, I get the same intention with this artist’s branding. The constant need to advertise the forced cross-cultural bounds between Nigeria and the United States, marked with the artist’s almost Igwe Tupac (Charles Okocha’s skit character)-like accent makes it hard for me to not bear similarity between his intent and the concept of ‘Mungo Park’-ing itself.

It is stated that the title track, ‘Abnegation’, is poignant and reflects the struggles and aspirations of Nigerians yearning for change as well as a vessel for amplifying the voices of the unheard. Compelling visual idents as well as videos will be released alongside the song, to further expand upon the artistic vision of this track. Let’s find out if the track stands the test of its description.

Right off the bat, the synthesizers in this song give it the feel of a dated, early 2010s hip-hop song with the ad-libs not necessarily helping the song. It definitely has a ‘star-like’, futuristic feel to it, but it sounds like a production from TurquoiseJeepRecords at the same time. The harmonic tone and the chords used give the track a sort of baroque-pop feel, with a deep and heartfelt soundscape. My main issue is with the hi-hats as well as the beat used, it sounds like as if it was meant to be on Wizkid’s Superstar album instead of any of his new releases. The initial vocalist/rapper enters a lyrical trance emulating Black Liberation tracks from African American music, but his delivery once again, reminds me of Igwe Tupac. The lyrics aren’t necessarily bad, as they show a passable level of lyrical manipulation as well as puns, but the delivery ruins it.

The saving grace of this track is definitely DR3LA. Even though he is the featured artist instead of the main artist on this track, his vocals show more musical variability, originality as well as authenticity in his vocal delivery. In fact, his rhythmic inflections give the song more melodic variability. His voice reminds me of a cross between Wizkid’s pseudo-Jamaican vocal styles in Made in Lagos, mixed with a more Nigerian take on Iyaz. He can also manipulate his voice between strong delivery and tender delivery, which definitely shows skill.

In his verses, there is also a spark of an interesting audio clip that sounds like straddling guitars, adding on to the theme of isolated struggle as well as amplifying the tone of his notes.

As the song ends, there is definitely an added spark to the melange of futuristic synths, but unfortunately, nothing stands out. I do not think this track is as artistically poignant as it is marketed to be.

When it comes to songs linking the Nigerian struggle to Black Liberation themes, there’s definitely a way to do it- think of the ‘Peace of Mind’ remix with Rema and Virgil Abloh or even ‘Killin’ Dem’ by Burna Boy. This song falls short because of how aged the production genuinely sounds. I think a more forward-sounding instrumental that reflects the current Nigerian soundscape would’ve been more appealing. Moreover, the crossover from Nigerian audiences to American, or even other global markets, have technically only been taken seriously when authenticity is in the mix. If one tries to emulate an audience or sound merely through emulation, there is a high risk of sounding cheesy and people can look through the act.

If ONEOFAFRICA intends to be a global, international act, I think it’s pertinent that he sounds more authentic instead of attempting to emulate a dated American sound. In fact, one of his songs named ‘Shegbemgbem’ is an absolute banger. It does not sound like a joke, it sounds deep, harmonic as well as rhythmic. I have no criticism of his delivery in Nigerian pidgin as it sounds perfect ‘in place’. The cadence of his voice does not sound inauthentic enough to undermine the musicality of the track. This seems to be a problem common with artists who intend to emulate an American sound such as the criticisms I had of Joe Lington – if it is forced, it can be detected very easily.

As for DR3LA, I think he has potential. His voice and vocal delivery shows a high level of musicality, musical variability as well as authenticity. I would love to see him expand upon his vocals and perform in other tracks.

All in all, ‘Abnegation’ is not really a track I would recommend to others and I would much rather refer to other tracks by ONEOFAFRICA if I had to. It sounds like as if it is trying to emulate a sound instead of creating a genuine sound, which makes it turn into an inauthentic act. The featured artist on this track definitely saved the track with his vocal sensibilities, but overall, it also sounds well-produced but instrumentally dated- if not done stylistically, that can be a huge crime in the venture of releasing new music.

Rating/Mediocre – ‘Abnegation’ is a single attempting to link the struggles of Nigerians with the topics of Black Liberation as well as dated instrumentalism, making it not a very effective track in its intent. However, it has a silver lining- DR3LA is the artist to look out for.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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